WBSGVS Chapter 162 V2

No wonder they were drawn to each other back then—they were both selfish.

Mu Lan’er let out a bitter chuckle. Now that she truly understood, it was far too late.

She carefully wiped the dirt and blood from Xie Rongyun’s face and struggled to change his clothes, panting from the effort.

Suddenly, an ice-cold hand gripped her wrist where it rested at the edge of the bed.

“Ah!” Mu Lan’er gasped and turned toward the source of the voice in a panic.

Xie Rongyun was staring at her with wide eyes, looking like a ghost that had crawled out from hell. His eyes were filled with a crazed desperation as he begged, “Lan’er!”

“Don’t call me that! Let go of me!” Mu Lan’er’s face went pale as she struggled, but strangely, even after being ill for so long, Xie Rongyun’s grip was still strong. She couldn’t break free from his bony hand, clutching her wrist like a claw.

“Save me!” Xie Rongyun’s body was tense, using every ounce of his remaining strength to tighten his grip. He spoke through gritted teeth, one word at a time: “I—don’t—want—to—die! Lan’er, I don’t want to die…”

A chill crept down Mu Lan’er’s spine as he stared at her. His gaze sent a cold sweat down her back. Her voice broke with panic, “I can’t save you… I really can’t…”

“You can!” Xie Rongyun insisted in a hoarse whisper, staring at her with eyes that refused to blink.

He was like a dying man clinging to his last thread of hope.

Those concubines—fools, every one of them! They didn’t understand that their only security was him. Instead, they all sided with Mu Qingli. Only Mu Lan’er had no one else.

But Mu Lan’er feared Mu Qingli to the bone. How could she possibly dare? The more Xie Rongyun begged, the harder she struggled. Her panic was tipping into hysteria. “Why won’t you let me go?!” she screamed.

Xie Rongyun froze, staring coldly at her.

Mu Lan’er’s face was streaked with tears, but her expression was growing sharper, colder. She stopped resisting and instead lunged forward, grabbed the blanket, and without hesitation pressed it over his face.

“Then just die. Once you’re gone, I’ll finally be free,” she said in a low voice.

Then, she pressed the blanket down with all her strength, sealing off his mouth and nose.

“Mmph! Mmmph!!” Xie Rongyun hadn’t expected her to try to kill him. His eyes widened in terror, and he began to struggle violently.

But Mu Lan’er didn’t budge. She threw her full weight onto him. No matter how he thrashed, in his weakened state, he simply couldn’t overpower a seventeen-year-old girl.

Especially not when he was already so close to death.

As his struggles weakened, Mu Lan’er’s face slowly broke into a serene smile. Her cheeks flushed pink, and her previously lifeless eyes surged with a fierce, almost exhilarating emotion.

Die. Just die.

Once Xie Rongyun was dead, she’d be free. Her third sister wouldn’t blame her anymore. Then, she could go back to living peacefully under her sister’s protection, just like before…

After what felt like an eternity, when she was sure there was no more resistance beneath her hands, she finally let go. Just as she reached to pull back the blanket and clean up—

“AHHHH—!”

A shrill scream tore through the silence, piercing her ears and snapping her back to reality. Mu Lan’er jerked her head around.

There stood Xie Yuning, her face pale with horror. The moment their eyes met, Yuning turned and bolted, screaming as she ran: “Help! Murder! Somebody help!”

Mu Lan’er’s face, flushed with adrenaline just moments ago, drained of all color. She collapsed to the ground, her entire body going limp.

What had she done?

She… she had actually killed Xie Rongyun.

Mu Lan’er covered her mouth, sobbing with muffled cries of “Mmm… mmm…” But then she suddenly remembered: those were the same hands she’d just used to smother him. With a shudder, she flung them away from her face.

Her palms, white from the pressure she had exerted, were starting to regain their color—her mind, however, was a blank void of despair.

She was finished.

Mu Qingli was stunned when she heard the news.

She had told Mu Lan’er to tend to Xie Rongyun, hoping that the two former lovers might reconcile. She never expected things to take this turn. Xie Rongyun’s death had always been inevitable, and she didn’t think Mu Lan’er dared to commit murder.

But she had done it.

Looking at Mu Lan’er kneeling before her, sobbing and begging for help, Qingli was genuinely shocked.

Had there been servants in the Laurel Courtyard, or had Xie Yuning arrived at any other time, this death might’ve passed unnoticed, assumed to be natural. No one would have suspected Mu Lan’er.

Qingli knelt. Mu Lan’er looked up, her face streaked with tears.

Qingli said softly, “Go on. I’ll take care of your burial. Consider it a final kindness between us sisters.”

“Third Sister!” Mu Lan’er wailed even harder, her cries heart-wrenching.

But the soldiers, led by Xie Yuning, had already arrived at the main hall. With Yuning’s accusation, they quickly moved to arrest Mu Lan’er.

She was taken away and sentenced under the name of a concubine Xie Rongyun had taken in.

That very day, the funeral arrangements for Xie Rongyun began.

Unfortunately, because his final duties were left in shambles, very few officials came to pay their respects. Only Xie Yuning and her two children showed up from his household.

Later, a few others came by out of respect for the Mu family, just to show their faces.

As expected, relatives from the Xie family’s ancestral home tried to claim the estate. But before they even got through the door, the Mu family sent someone to drive them off with just a few sharp words—Qingli didn’t even need to intervene.

Seven days later, Xie Rongyun was buried.

Qingli, citing poor health, didn’t attend. None of the concubines could go either, since they were all pregnant. Xie Rongyun left behind no legitimate children, so only Xie Yuning, her two kids, and a few household servants wept at his funeral.

After the burial, Lady Mu arrived with a strange expression and handed Qingli a piece of paper. “Take a look at this,” she said.

Qingli frowned and accepted it. When she glanced down, she saw the bold red print on a stiff card: a wedding gift list.